Lighter



Patented Mar. 22, 1932 UNITED STATES ,PATENT OPT-rcs :aux Rossmann., or mmoxmm, Naw vom; assrexon. 'ro may mman e 3m.,-

-IIJ'G., 0F PROVIDENCE RHODE' ISLAND, A GOBPOBATION `OFEHODE ISLAND maman innemen ma my as, im, serian. man.

My present invention relates to 4lighters and more `particularly to pocket lighters o the ymechanical One object of my invention is to provide a mechanical lighter having improved spark producing facilities.

Another object-is to utilize a train of gears.

`followmg 1s a detalled description of a prefor operating the friction wheel and increasing its speed of rotation.

'A' third object of my invention is to simplify and reduce the number of operatmg arts. p A further object isV to utilize an im roved form of clutch for operating the iction 415 wheel.

Other objects and advantageous features will be readily apparent from the detailed-description following, in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, and will be particu- 9o larly pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a top plan view of the improved lighter;

Figu

re 2 is an elevation, partly in section,

25 showing the operating mechanism;

Figures 3 and 4 are respectively sections on the lines 3-3 and 4--4 of Figure 2;

Figure 5 is an enlarged detail of the spring clutch members; and, A

Figure' 6 is a section on the line 6-6 of Fi re 5. j j 4 ighters of the mechanical type have heretofore used a pawl and ratchet arrangement for operating the friction or abrading wheel. This arrangement `requires a comparatively large operating space, and is expensive ,to manufacture on account of the positioning and setting of the pawls and the formation of the ratchet teeth; moreover, the securing of the p'awls on their .baseand the assembly of the pawls and ratchet requires careful, ex- Vpert workmanship, and the number of elements and their operating rstresses increase the liability of breakage when the lighter. is subjected to hard usage. I obviate' these diiiicultiesby using a coil spring clutch in .place of the usual pawl and ratchet. j Another disadvantage of lighters of this type has been the failure to obtain suilicient .'0 spark production in the short operatingperiod to insure i tion of the wick. I overcome this disalyl'hntage by using a train of gears to provide anincreased ra idity of rotation of the: friction wheel. T e combination of a coil s ring clutch and a4 gear train thus increases oth the effectiveness andthe reliability of the improved lighter; and the ferred structural embodiment which carries out the principles of my invention.

Referring to the drawings, the lighter comprises a fuel compartment 10 of generally octagonal cross section, having the usual screw closure 11 for admitting fuel to t interior thereof, housed in a recess in the bo tom wall 12. The top wall 13 serves as a support for the operating mechanism and has an opening 14 adjacent one end in which a wick retainer 15 is screw-'threadedly mounted, the wick 16 extending upwardly from the wick retainer and having its.lower portion within the fuel compartment.

Positioned adjacent the wick is a pyrophoricalloy container tube 17, preferably having the upper end screw-threadedly engaging the top wall 13 and the lower end flanged te seat within the apertured base of a cup 18 which extends into the fuel compart- ,ment A closure member 19 has a thumbwheel housed in a recess concentrically positioned with respect to the cup 18, and screwthreadedly engages the side walls thereof.`

Within the tube 17, I position a pyrophoric alloy 20, spring pressed upwardly by a double compression spring 21, the closure member 19 being advanced or retracted to regulate the engagement of the two spring sections and thus change the pressure ofthe spring 21 on the alloy 20. y

. The two parallel sides ofthe `fuel compartment 10 are upwardly extended to form bearing walls or standards 22, 23, within which pivot pins 24, 25 and 26, are mounted as shown in Figure 4, each pin being kerfed at the end adjacent the standard 23 and having a reduced portion at the other end which l 1 screw-threadedly engages the standard 22.

- 20; secure to the friction wheel 27 is a pinthe the ub 32 and positioned concentric there-y ion 29 for imparting rotation to the friction wheel in a manner hereinafter described. Both the friction wheeland the pinion have spaced hubs to prevent lateral shi ting `on the pivot in, although washers may be used if 1 desire Iwo gears 30, 31 are rotatably mounted on pivot ar 31 a hub 33 of greater diameter than with. A coil spring 34 positioned between the hubs frictionally engages the hub 32 and has an outwardly bent end 35 which is secured in a slot 36 in the hub 33. The gear 31 meshes with the pinion 29.

An operating lever 37 has two depending ears 38, 39 rotatably mounted on the pivot pin 26, the lever being extended to provide a cover 40 for the operating mechanism which terminates in a snuffel' cap 41 normally resting over the wick 16. One side of the cover 40 depends downwardly and is formed as a rack 42, which meshes with the gear 30; a coil spring 43 positioned about the pivot pin 26 serves to normally press the operating lever upwardly and to retain the cover 40 and the snuffer cap 41 in closed plosition. The operation of my improved lig ter is as follows:

Manual pressure of the thumb or finger on the end of operating lever 37 turns this lever and lifts the snuifer-cap away from the wick; the rack 42 moves and rotates gear 30, which tends to wind the spring 34, thus binding the spring on the hub 32 and causing the gear 31 to be clutched to, and rotate in unison with, the gear 30. The gear'31 therefore imparts rotation to the pinion 29 which meshes therewith, this pinion rotating the friction wheel 27 and causing violent spark production which ignites the now exposed wick. Due to the use of a train of gears,'the motion of the operating lever is multiplied to cause a very rapid rotation of the friction wheel. When the pressure on the end ofthe operating lever is relieved, the spring 43 returns the lever, the cover, and the snuffer cap to their normal positions, the hub 32 now tending to unwind the spring, and thus turning freely therein, without reverse rotation of the friction wheel.

While I have described aA specific embodiment of my invention it isobvious that such structural changes and variations as appear desirable may be made, within the scope of the invention asl defined by the appended claims. i

I claim:

1. In a lighter, a casing, a wick extending therefrom, a pyrophoric material tube in said casing, having an opening adjacent said wick, pyrophoric materiall therein, a friction wheel vengaging said pyrophoric material, a spring comprising two interengaging compression pin 25, the gear 30 having a hub 32 and -wick, a friction wheel engaging said pyrophoric material, a rotatable element operatively connected to said friction wheel and having a bore, a rotatable pinion, a hub on said pinion extending into said bore, and a coil spring frictionally engaging said hub .and secured to said element. v

4. In a lighter, a casing, a wick extending therefrom, pyrophoric material adjacent said wick, a friction wheel having teeth en aging said pyrophoric material and a gear or rotating said friction Wheel, means for mounting the said wheel and gear on said casing, a pinion engaging said gear, a rotatable membei', mounted in said casing, and a clutch between said'pinion and said rotatable member, and manually operable means for rotating said member. j

5. In a lighter, a casing, a wick extending therefrom, pyrophoric material adjacent said wick, a friction wheel having teeth engaging said pyro horic material and a gear for rotatv ing said riction wheel, means mounting the said friction wheel and gear on said casing, a pinion engaging said gear, a second pinion mounted on said casing, and a clutch between said pinions, and manually operable means for rotatin said second pinion.

6. In a lighter, a casing, a wick extending therefrom, pyrophoric material adjacent said wick, a friction Wheel rotatably mounted on said casing and having teeth engaging said pyrophoric material, a pinion' operatively connected to the friction wheel, a manuall movable device, and means including a clutc operatively connecting said manually movable device and said pinion.

7. In a lighter, a casing, a wick extendin therefrom, pyrophoric material adjacent sai wick, a friction wheel rotatably mounted on said casing and having teeth engaging said pyrophoric material, a pinion operatively connected to the friction wheel, a second pinion geared to said first pinion, a rotatable member,'a clutch connecting said rotatable member and said second pinion, and manually movable means for rotating said rotatable member.

8. In a lighter, a casing, a wick extendin therefrom, pyrophoric material adjacent sai wick, a friction wheel rotatably mounted on said casing and having teeth ,engaging said pyrophoric material, a pinion operatively connected to the friction wheel, a second pinion geared to said first pinion, a third pinion, a clutch .connecting said third pinion and said second pinion, and manually movable means for rotating said third pinion.

9. In a lighter, a casing, three parallel pivot pins mounted on the upper'part thereof, a rotatable friction Wheel anda pinion secured thereto `mounted on the first pin, a`

second pinion geared to the first pinion, and a third pinion and clutch means connecting the same to said second pinion mounted on the second pin, and a geared segment geared to said third pinion mounted on the third pm.

10. In a lighter, the combination of afuel casing having a wick end projecting there- A. from, a friction wheel mounted adjacent said wick end and having a pinion, apair of gear wheels loosely journalled on a bearing adjacent said friction wheel and having coacting clutch members, one of said gear wheels having driving connection with said friction Wheel pinion and having a diameter substantially greater than the same and an oper-v ating lever fulcrumed on said casing and having a gear member meshing with the other of said gear wheels. Y

Aao

11. In a lighter, the combination of a fuel casing having a wick end projecting therefrom, a friction wheel journalled on an axis adjacent said wick end and having a. fixed pinion, a pair of gear members loosely mounted on a bearing adjacent said friction wheel with one of the same meshing with said pinion, complementary clutch members carried by said gear wheels, and an operating lever fulcrumed on said casing and having a gear segment in mesh with the other of said gear members, said gear member, gear wheels and pinion providing a speed-increasing gear train whereby said friction wheel is rotated at a substantially greater speed than the ope erating lever.

In testimony whereof I aix my si nature.

JACK ROSENT 

